Hi All! Update one of two tonight! Whoot Whoot! This is yet another example of a long winded chapter that had to be split up. I try to keep my chapters pretty even. This is going to be a little funny and fluffy. I hope you enjoy it!

I wanted to clarify something for you guys that one of my marvelous readers pointed out. Gaia can take a form so to speak, but she makes it out of earth (rocks, dirty, leaves, ect.). That's how she could touch Addie when she talked to her. She can't hold it for long, which is why most of the time she speaks through the mind. She needs the demigods sacrifices to have a humanoid form, like what the gods have. Make sense?

Now on to the chapter!

-Apollo-

I carried her outside, and we got in the back of Artemis's sleigh. She pulled off into the night, trying to stay out of sight of Olympus. I was decently sure we would be okay. I didn't see them looking for her in Manhattan, but you could never really be sure with us. Addie had dozed off for a little while, maybe about an hour or so, but now, her eyes were blinking sleepily up at me.

"Where are we?" she asked with a huge yawn. She quickly stood in the seat of the sleigh, leaning dangerously over. I kept my hands on her waist, attempting to keep her in the sleigh. Gods forbid if she fell over. She looked back at me, and as she did she fell backwards. I caught her, and my breath hitched. Her face was awful close to mine, and I could smell the wine on her breath along with that earthy scent she always seemed to have. My heart gave a painful throb of longing as I looked into her eyes. She pulled away from me, wrapping in on herself.

"Somewhere over West Virginia, I believe. How are you feeling?"

"Very, very dizzy. And I am STARVING," she said grabbing her stomach.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Her eyebrows met as she concentrated. I had to admit, she was pretty cute when she was trying to remember something.

"Umm, breakfast?" she finally said. "Two days ago, I think."

"Addie!" I admonished her. Gods, that girl was more of a danger to herself than anyone else. Her face flashed in anger, but it was marred by her drunken state.

"Don't you Addie me! You can't tell me what to do; you're not the boss of me! Oh wait," she laughed. "I guess you can tell me what to do. BUT I don't have to listen for at least one more day!"

"One more day?"

"I'm somewhere in day two of three of my furlough from you guys, at least that's what Orion told me."

Her words hit me like a punch to the stomach. I knew she didn't mean for them to, but I couldn't help the guilt that threatened to take me over. Gaia was trying to recruit her.

"You should know better than to drink on an empty stomach," I reminded her in a gentle murmur.

"I should. What's the saying? I'm old enough to know better, but young enough not to care? But I'm not young at all, am I? I just look young. I wanted to drink until I forgot to care, and I believe I have succeeded. Congratulations to me!" she rambled. Addie rested her head on the edge of the sleigh, looking down at the world below. She looked so beautiful to me then, perhaps more so than the first time I saw her.

Had Gaia spoken to Addie, or was it just Orion? I wondered what Addie had said and done. I knew she loved her brother egregiously, and I wondered what he had told her about what happened. She seemed to trust us enough to be okay around us in her drunken state. I felt that once the alcohol was out of her system, this carefree Addie would not be around. We would actually have to discuss the problem.

"D'you remember that night we snuck out of that party?" she recalled.

"Yes. And Father kept trying to summon you, but I told you that you had to stay."

"And then he asked what was so important to avoid the summons of the king of the gods, and I started mumbling like an idiot, because I had to tell him the truth-"

"And I told Father that we were hunting the Teumessian Fox. The perfect excuse for not coming back with anything."

Addie laughed, clearly and happily. "His face! It took all I had not to die laughing! I would have got punished for days if you hadn't covered for me. It was very clever of you," she admitted as she sat back down. She paused, looking at something in the distance, light forming in her eyes.

Then she vanished.

I swore loudly in Greek, and Artemis turned around.

"Uh, where's Addie?" she asked uncertainly.

"I'm pretty sure I know where she went. I'll go get her," I said as I rolled my eyes. I changed into my immortal form, appearing in a McDonald's parking lot. The golden arches were clearly visible from the sleigh, and it was the only hunch I had on why she would suddenly disappear. As usual, I was right. Addie stood at the counter, talking to the cashier. She looked so out of place in that dress, like a queen among peasants. Even from this distance, I could tell the cashier was flirting with her, and it just made me angry. No, it made me jealous. I walked into the restaurant, determined to get her back. She was in no fit state to talk to anyone anyways.

"What kind of money is this?" the guy asked Addie. He held up a gold coin, looking at it strangely.

"Oh, gods, you guys don't take this kind of money, do you?" she giggled. She made some dollar bills appear in her hands, quickly exchanging it for the drachma.

"You're not from round here are you?" he asked her charmingly. He leaned towards her, and Addie was oblivious to the gesture. "I could show you around-"

"I think she's good," I hinted coldly. I wrapped my arm possessively around her waist, giving the stupid mortal boy a glare I'm sure would make his hair turn grey. Who did he think he was? How dare he flirt with my girl, and right in front of me? He paled considerably, handing her a paper bag and a drink. I pulled her from the restaurant, dragging her behind me. Artemis had pulled her sleigh into a parking spot, using the mist to make it look like a mustang convertible.

"You like French fries right?" Addie asked her as she climbed in the back. She reached in the bag, pulling out some fries. She waved it temptingly from the back, and Artemis snatched them from her. While we didn't have to eat anything besides nectar and ambrosia, it didn't stop us from eating mortal food every once in a while. To be honest, ambrosia tasted like whatever we wanted it to, but sometimes it could just not beat the real thing.

"I knew I liked you," Artemis mused. Addie turned towards me, but her face fell once she saw my expression. She turned quickly and began munching on the food from her bag. We rode in silence for a long time, and I felt my anger start to ebb. I wasn't angry at her. I wished I could call her mine, but that would never happen after the way we treated her. I was no Ares. I would not make her do anything she didn't want to do. How could she care for me after what I did? I turned to look at her, but Addie was snoring softly against the side of the sleigh. I reached over to move her hair out of her face, and she curled up on the bench, her head resting on my thigh. For the next hour, we rode in silence. We arrived at my penthouse. Artemis parked at the front, turning to look at me.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"I think she is down for the count," I surmised. "I can handle her from here."

Artemis stared at me for a minute, her eyes narrowed in thought. She always got that look when she was thinking of how to tell me something. I guess it came from years of knowing your sibling.

"Just tell her the truth, Apollo. All of it. She will listen," she assured me.

"I hope so," I replied. Artemis gave me a big hug, and I picked up Addie from the back. She curled into me, sighing deeply. Her hands gripped my shirt, and she buried her head into my chest.

Artemis brushed her arm, and then gave me a quick squeeze on my shoulder. She snapped her fingers, and the sleigh disappeared. I made sure Addie was facing away, and Artemis took her immortal form and disappeared.

As I walked through the lobby, no one paid attention to us. I hit the elevator, which opened immediately. It was almost four in the morning, so no mortals were awake. I shifted her weight so I could punch in the code. The elevator zoomed up, and opened into my penthouse. I carried Addie to my bed, depositing her gently in it. I touched her cheek, and her eyes fluttered open. She leaned into my hand, a small smile appearing on her face.

"I missed you," she whispered. "Even though I'm mad at you, I missed you." Her hand reached for me, and I held it in my own. Her hand felt so cold, just like the first time I danced with her.

"I didn't know that," I confessed.

"You should. I like you, well I more than like you. You make me feel all…lightheaded. Every time you touch me, my heart goes ba-boom," she muttered as she did a gesture with her hand. She was definitely still drunk and half-asleep, but I couldn't stop smiling. Addie still liked me? After all of this?

"Is that so?" I asked her with a small smile. Her eyes opened up, and her lips turned up into a half-smile.

"I'm not the first girl you snagged with your good looks and charm," she slurred.

"You're the only one I ever tried and wanted to catch," I admitted. My words surprised me, but I could not deny the truth in them. She closed her eyes, pain flashing briefly on her features.

"I'm scared," she whispered. Her breathing was starting to slow, and I could feel her hand relax in my own.

"What are you scared of?"

"You."

"Why do I scare you?" I questioned desperately. I needed to know, and I feared she was about to pass back out.

"Because you're a god, it won't last," she sighed sadly. "No matter how badly I want it to."

Was it true? I had never found anyone that affected me in a way that made me what to keep them forever. I had many loves in my existence. I was a god, and the game was easy to play. I had spent thousands of years getting women, and some men, to be putty in the palm of my hand. I could get pretty much whatever I wanted. It wasn't that hard. Some had lasted longer than others, but after I sated my desire, I moved on. Those on Olympus thought of me as the playboy god. Hades, even my sister thought that!

Was that all I wanted from Addie? I couldn't lie, of course I desired her. Addie was gorgeous, and I wasn't the only god or goddess that thought so. Hell, look what Ares had to do to get her! I didn't want her just because of her beauty. I wanted Addie because of how she was on the inside. She was the most beautifully broken person I had ever encountered, and I wanted nothing more than to see her happy.

Since I had met Addie, none of them compared to her because she was so different. I didn't care what everyone else thought. I talked to her because she was funny and wickedly smart. I wanted to make her forget about all the bad things that had ever happened to her. I needed to show her how beautiful and captivating she was, and I would spend every day for the rest of my existence trying to prove that to her. It was what she deserved, and I was going to ensure that she got it.

"I promise it will," I whispered to her, even though I knew she was fast asleep. "I'll prove it to you, if it's the last thing I do."

-Addie-

When I woke up, I just rolled over and groaned, begging for sleep to take me once again. My head was pounding so hard I could feel it at the ends of my hair. Every inch of me hurt, and my mouth felt like the Sahara desert.

I realized I had no idea where I was. I was in a bed, one of the most comfortable I had ever been in. It certainly was not a booth at the Vine, which I had informed Cyrus I would most likely end up in. The last thing I remember was talking to…holy mother of Hera!

I shot up in the bed, looking wildly around me. A string of various profanities in at least three different languages flew from my mouth. I recognized where I was. I knew this skyline well enough. I buried my throbbing head in my heads as I attempted to fight the overwhelming stream of emotions running through me. What had I said to them? What had I done that I couldn't remember? What time was it!?

Get ready for the next one! :D